Sources close to Patch say negotiations have slowed to a crawl since Gov. Phil Murphy's administration has been investigating whether corporations misused tax breaks in past years, including one company owned by Democratic powerbroker George Norcross, a close ally of Senate President Stephen Sweeney.
If marijuana legalization is going to happen, it needs both Sweeney and Murphy on the same page, scrambling to get the votes needed to pass the legislation. Read more: New Jersey Cancels Vote On Marijuana Legalization
Bill Caruso, an attorney who helped create New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform, told NJ Advance Media that advocates in Murphy's circle "have decided to make this (tax incentives) their top issue, leaving behind the social justice efforts surrounding cannabis, and that is unfortunate."